Comparison

Lucerna vs Coeli

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Lucerna

This app offers a curated audio library of Catholic stories and reflections, designed for moments of quiet contemplation, anxiety, or loneliness. It features diverse narrators and content organized by emotional states rather than traditional categories. The app aims to provide solace and spiritual connection without demanding active participation.

Highlights
  • Contemplative audio library
  • Saint stories
  • Organized by emotional states
  • Multiple narrator options
  • Weekly new story releases
  • Free tier with rotating content
Features
Read full description

Lucerna is Catholic contemplative audio that shows up for you in the hardest hours — without asking you to show up for it first. Saint stories for the hours when you can't sleep, can't pray, can't be alone. Catholic. Quiet. Made to be drifted in and out of. A story-led Catholic audio library organized around how you actually arrive: in bed and can't sleep, anxious between things, sitting with grief, facing a decision, lonely and wanting a voice. WHO IT'S FOR Catholics — practicing, lapsed, or somewhere in between — who want the texture of the tradition delivered as story, not as another thing to perform. Heritage Catholics. Returning Catholics. Catholics who would close any app that performs Catholicity at them. If you've tried other Catholic prayer apps and found they ask more engagement than fits your life, Lucerna is the contemplative companion you'd been looking for in the wrong category. THE FIVE STATES Lucerna organizes content around when you actually open it, not by saint name or liturgical season: • Sleep: narrated saint lives, gospel passages, and Compline for the hours past midnight • Calm: short pieces for anxious moments, between meetings, on a walk • Solace: psalms and gospel passages for grief, loss, and the hard months • Direction: Ignatian discernment, contemplative readings for decisions • Companionship: narrator-anchored stories when you want a voice in the room You can drift, half-listen, fall asleep, or come back tomorrow. The audio never punishes inattention. It welcomes return at any point. FIVE NARRATORS Each story is told by one of five voices, each with a real human texture: • Father Kevin Donovan — Boston Irish parish priest • Rosa Marino — Italian-American grandmother • Father Francisco Reyes — Mexican-American Jesuit • Father Emeka Okonkwo — Igbo Nigerian priest • Sister Maria Wisniewska — Polish-American contemplative Pick your narrator. Return to the same voice across stories. Or let the app surface what fits the moment. CATHOLIC, BY CATHOLICS Every story passes through a Catholic advisory panel before publication. Mainstream Roman Catholic, devotional warmth without doctrinal heaviness. Iconic scripture and liturgical text presented as you'd hear them at Mass. The 2011 Roman Missal, the standard devotional prayers, the translations a practicing Catholic actually hears every week. HONEST PRICING • Free tier: Five free stories every month on rotation. No card capture. • Premium: $4.99/month or $49.99/year for the full library. • Cancel in-app at any time. No trial bait, no duplicate charges, no subscription traps. NEW STORIES EVERY WEEK The launch library covers about 25 stories across the liturgical year. New stories dropping each week — Marian content, saint lives, gospel passages, contemplative readings — anchored to where you are in the year. WHAT LUCERNA IS NOT Not a daily-prayer streak. Not a habit tracker. Not a meditation course with celebrity narrators. Not children's content. Not "transform your prayer life" — just an actual companion for the hours when you can't. --- Subscription Details • Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase or after the free trial period if offered. • Your subscription will automatically renew unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. • You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. • Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. • Privacy policy: https://getlucerna.faith/privacy • Terms of use: https://getlucerna.faith/terms

About

Coeli

Features
Read full description

Coeli is the most beautiful and reverent way to pray every day and care for your spiritual life. It brings together the essential Catholic devotions in a calm, distraction-free experience: • Holy Rosary — all four sets of mysteries (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, Luminous) with step-by-step guidance. • Divine Mercy Chaplet. • Angelus and Regina Caeli, according to the liturgical season. • Multi-day novenas to accompany your intentions. • A treasury of traditional prayers, always at hand. To support your consistency: • A daily streak that rewards perseverance. • A calendar and heatmap of your prayer life. • Intentions: pray for what you carry in your heart. No ads during prayer. No noise. Just you, your faith, and a worthy space to meet God. Coeli requires a subscription to access all devotions and your spiritual life tracker. You can manage or cancel it anytime. Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://coeli.app/privacy

Screenshots

Lucerna4 screens
Coeli4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Coeli at fortnightly against Lucerna's every 3 months. Coeli also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Lucerna sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Coeli sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lucerna ships an update every 3 months, Coeli fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Lucerna versus Coeli: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLucernaCoeli
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTHOMAS FLETCHER PRICEKOFAKTOR SpA

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Lucerna

Subscriptions2
  • Lucerna Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Lucerna Premium Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
2 purchases

Coeli

Subscriptions2
  • Coeli Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Coeli Annual$34.991 Year

Questions

Is Lucerna free?
Lucerna is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Coeli free?
Coeli is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lucerna or Coeli have ads?
Neither Lucerna nor Coeli shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lucerna or Coeli?
Lucerna ships an update every 3 months, and Coeli fortnightly. Most recently, Lucerna was updated on October 28, 2026 and Coeli on October 25, 2026.

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